How does the 575M hold up? My wife wants me to splurge and get a 575M F1 so that she can also drive it. Currently she drives a 997 with Tiptronic and with the F1 tranny she could (in theory) drive the 575. She doesn't drive manual and is to stubborn to learn... It's been a bit of an argument, I really love the 328's style due to an "inner connection", probably too many times watching Cannonball run or Against all Odds, etc.. I had my hooks into an interesting silver 575M for only $135k but I hesitated and lost it. The reason for the hesitation was that I really would rather save the money and get a 328 - which I prefer the styling of. The 575 pulls my heart strings just a little due to it's Daytona-ish styling (sorry, HUGE Miami Vice fan, made me fall in love with the old Daytona even though the one in the series was a fake) Sorry for the rant
The DOT crash tests are the only widely accepted (in the US) and documented tests providing some objective and standardized data - consequently, they have intrinsic value for testing and comparison purposes. As you imply, however, these limited tests don't go anywhere near recreating all the various combinations of speed and angle that occur in real world driving. Incidentally, the vast majority of automobile accidents occur at less than 35mph. There is some good objective data available from the DOT documenting this fact.
360/430 have aluminum frames, not unit body. Ferrari claims the 430 did so well in side impact crashes they deemed side airbags to be unneeded. I don't swallow everything Ferrari claims hook, line and sinker however. Nevertheless, I think Ferrari abandoned the tube frame in part to meet tougher crash standards without adding weight. Dave
True... As I described above, my impact was a t-bone by a Surburban, admittedly at parking lot speeds, ameliorated somewhat, by the damp grass....pushed me sideways....... It trashed the door (with US crash bar) but I drove it on, the rest of the weekend...it didn't have any effect on steering or alignment...they are pretty tough IMO, compared to ????????
Ferrari wnet to a semi unibody for costs IMO not strength, haven't seen a 430 hit hard yet but most 355s and 360s are in multiple parts after a side impact, you don't see that with tube frame cars which is why they are still prefered for strength for race models such as in nascar.
Crashing a 328 into a concrete block @ 45 mph is the same as two 328s going 45 mph crashing into each other. May seem incorrect based on "gut feeling" but it is the case. This is from iihs.org 's FAQ: "The forces in the Institute's 40 mph frontal offset test into a deformable barrier are similar to those in a real-world crash between two vehicles of the same weight, each going just less than 40 mph."
